Starting this Saturday visitors can enter the "Flutter Zone" and walk among nearly 600 tropical butterflies of 32 different species from Asia, Africa and South America.

"Butterflies are just like all other creatures," said Judith Bacal, Maritime Aquarium Director of Exhibits. "We need to protect their habitats and keep our waterways clean and not use chemicals."

"They're all over," said Stamford resident Maryann Brown. "They land on you. You can see them on the flowers. The colors are gorgeous. They're spectacular."

"The plants are really pretty and the butterflies are so different," said Emma Denatale, Brookfield resident. "It's awesome."

The aquarium's newest exhibit "Flutterzone" located special tent outside, formerly used by its Lorikeet exhibit and will be up from now until Labor Day.

"They get shipped to us weekly," said Bacal. "And we'll get new ones from Africa and Asia throughout the whole summer. So every time you come to the exhibit, not only will you potentially see different butterflies, you'll also see different flowering plants."

The life span of a butterfly can last only several weeks and that's why aquarium exhibitors like Judith Bacal are raising their own in the pupae zone, where visitors can watch the metamorphosis lifecycle of a butterfly transformation from and egg, caterpillar to chrysalis.

"When the butterfly comes out of the pupae, they're kind of all squished up and they actually pump this liquid into its body that fills up the veins, and that stiffens up and that allows them to fly."

It's the first time the maritime aquarium has displayed a butterfly exhibit and aquarium staff say they plan to do it again next year.

"We are also planting a local pollinator garden and we're hosting Monarchs," said Bacal. "We're a Monarch way station, so we're participating in increasing habitats for butterflies."

The exhibit is open Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. throughout the month of June and will stay open until 6 p.m. in July and August.